Humans pump thousands of tons of vapor from the metallic element mercury into the atmosphere each year, and it can remain suspended for long periods before being changed into a form that is easily removed from the atmosphere.

New research shows that the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere work to transform elemental mercury into oxidized mercury, which can easily be deposited into lakes and oceans and ultimately enter the food chain. Mercury-filled fish are not safe to eat.
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A passing coronal mass ejection from the sun caused an illumination response from an otherwise invisible object near Mercury that was captured both by NASA’s Heliospheric Imager 1 satellite and by the SECCHI-A spacecraft. Initially, SECCHI staff explained it as a video afterimage of the planet on the previous day, but other imagery of Mercury taken during other coronal mass ejections do not show the same effect, and the explanation has since been removed from their website. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s wrong, as a similar ‘object’ has been observed near Mars by SECCHI-B. It could well be that what is being seen is an after-image of a previous day’s run, just as NASA says.
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Scientists who measured the mercury levels in Yellowstone National Park recently were surprised by what they found at the base of Roaring Mountain: one of the highest levels of mercury ever found in an undisturbed natural area. Mercury is a highly toxic pollutant often associated with volcanoes, and recent reports say Yellowstone is overdue for an supervolcano eruption.
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